Thu. Therefore as you unwind her love from him, Left it should ravel, and be good to none," You must provide to bottom it on me: Which must be done, by praifing me as much As you in worth difpraife Sir Valentine.

Duke. And, Protheus, we dare trust you in this kind,
Because we know, on Valentine's report,
You are already love's firm votary;

And cannot foon revolt and change your mind.
Upon this warrant, shall you have access,
Where you with Silvia may confer at large:
For fhe is lumpifh, heavy, melancholy.
And, for your friend's fake, will be glad of you;
Where you may temper her by your perfuafion,
To hate young Valentine, and love my friend.
Pro. As much as I can do, I will effect,
But you, Sir Thurio, are not fharp enough;
You must lay lime, to tangle her defires,
By wailful fonnets, whofe compofed rhimes
Should be full fraught with ferviceable vows.
Duke. Much is the force of heav'n-bred poefy.
Pro. Say, that upon the altar of her beauty
You facrifice your tears, your fighs, your heart:
Write, 'till your ink be dry; and with your tears
Moift it again; and frame fome feeling line,
That may difcover fuch integrity:

For Orpheus' lute was ftrung with poets finews;
Whofe golden touch could foften steel and ftones,
Make tygers tame, and huge Leviathans
Forfake unfounded deeps, to dance on fands."
After your dire-lamenting elegies,

Vifit by night your Lady's chamber-window
With fome fweet confort: to their inftruments
Tune a deploring dump; the night's dead filence
Will well become fuch fweet complaining grievance.
This, or elfe nothing, will inherit her.

Duke. This difcipline fhews, thou haft been in love.
Thu. And thy advice this night I'll put in practice;
Therefore, fweet Protheus, my direction-giver,
Let us into the city presently

То

To fort fome Gentlemen well skill'd in mufic;
I have a fonnet, that will serve the turn,
To give the onfet to thy good advice.

Duke. About it, Gentlemen.

Pro. We'll wait upon your Grace, 'till after fupper; And afterwards determine our proceedings.

Duke. Ev'n now about it. I will pardon you. [Exeunt.

00000

ACT

IV.

SCENE, a Foreft, leading towards Mantua.
Enter certain Out-laws.

FE

I OUT-LAW.

Ellows, ftand faft: I fee a paffenger.

2 Out. If there be ten, fhrink not, but down with 'em. Enter Valentine and Speed.

3 Out. Stand, Sir, and throw us what you have about you; if not, we'll make you, Sir, and rifle you. Speed. Sir, we are undone; thefe are the villains, that all the travellers do fear fo much.

Val. My friends,

1 Out. That's not fo, Sir; we are your enemies. 2 Out. Peace; we'll hear him.

3 Out. Ay, by my beard, will we; for he is a proper man. Val. Then know, that I have little wealth to lofe; A man I am, crofs'd with adverfity;

My riches are these poor habiliments,

Of which if you fhould here disfurnith me,

You take the fum and fubftance that I have. 2 Out. Whither travel you?

Val. To Verona.

1 Out. Whence came you? Val. From Milan.

3 Out. Have you long fojourn'd there?

Val. Some fixteen months; and longer might have ftaid, If crooked fortune had not thwarted me.

K 2

1 Out.

1 Out. What, were you banifh'd thence ? Val. I was.

2. Out. For what offence?

Val. For that, which now torments me to rehearse: I kill'd a man, whofe death I much repent; But yet I flew him manfully in fight, Without falfe vantage or bafe treachery.

1 Qut. Why ne'er repent it, if it were done fo. But were you banish'd for fo small a fault? Fal. I was, and held me glad of fuch a doom. 1 Out. Have you the tongues?

Val. My youthful travel therein made me happy, Or elfe I often had been miferable.

3 Out. By the bare fcalp of Robin Hood's fat friar, This fellow were a King for our wild faction. 1 Out. We'll have him. Sirs, a word.

Speed. Mafter, be one of them; it's an honourable kind of thievery.

Val. Peace, villain.

2 Out. Tell us this; have you any thing to take to? Val. Nothing, but my fortune.

3 Out. Know then, that fome of us are Gentlemen, Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth

Thruft from the company of awful men:

Myfelf was from Verona banished,

For practising to fteal away a Lady,

An heir, and near ally'd unto the Duke. (14)

2 Out.

(14) An beir ard niece ally'd unto the Duke.] Thus all the impref fions, from the firft downwards. But our Poet would never have expreffed himself fo ftupidly, as to tell us, this Lady was the Duke's Niece, and ally'd to him: For her alliance was, certainly, fufficiently ncluded in the first term. Our Author meant to fay, fhe was an keirefs, and near ally'd to the Duke: an expreffion the most natural that can be for the purpose, and very frequently ufed by the StagePoets.

So in Romeo and Juliet.

This Gentleman, the Prince's near ally.

So in Beaumont and Fietcher's Sea-Voyage.

yet that we may learn

Whether they are the fame, or near ally'd
To thofe, that forc'd me to this cruel courfe.

So

2 Out. And I from Mantua, for a Gentleman
Whom, in my mood, I ftabb'd unto the heart.
1 Out. And I for fuch like petty crimes as thefe,
But, to the purpofe; for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives ;
And, partly, feeing you are beautify'd
With goodly fhape, and by your own report
A linguift; and a man of fuch perfection,
As we do in our quality much want ;—

2 Out. Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,
Therefore, above the reft, we parley to you;
Are you content to be our General ?

To make a virtue of neceffity,

And live, as we do, in the wilderness?

3 Out. What fay'ft thou? wilt thou be of our confort? Say, ay; and be the captain of us all :

We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee;
Love thee as our commander, and our King.

1 Out. But if thou fcorn our courtesy, thou dy't. 2 Out. Thou shalt not live to brag what we have offer'd. Val. I take your offer, and will live with you; Provided, that you do no outrages

On filly women, or poor paffengers.

3 Out. No, we deteft fuch vile bafe practices, Come, go with us, we'll bring thee to our crews, And thew thee all the treasure we have got; Which, with our felves, fhall reft at thy difpofe. [Exeunt.

So in B. Job-fon's Every Man out of his Humour.

-fome fuch cross-wooing, with a clown to their fervingman, better than to be thus near and familiarly ally'd to the time,

So in Law Tricks, by John Day.

That notwithstanding my wife's near alliance
Under the Duke, I purchas'd a divorce.

And fo in Soliman and Perfeda;

Fly, ere the Governor have any news,

Whofe near ally he was, and chief delight.

And in a number of paffages more, that might be quoted.

SCENE changes to an open Place, under Silvia's Apartment, in Milan.

Pro.

Enter Protheus.

ALready I've been falfe to Valentine,

And now I must be as unjust to Thurio.
Under the colour of commending him,
I have accefs my own love to prefer:
But Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy,
To be corrupted with my worthless gifts.
When I proteft true loyalty to her,

She twits me with my falfhood to my friend;
When to her beauty I commend my vows,
She bids me think, how I have been forfworn
In breaking faith with Julia whom I lov'd.
And, notwithstanding all her fudden quips,
The caft whereof would quell a lover's hope,
Yet, fpaniel-like, the more the fpurns my love,
The more it grows, and fawneth on her ftill.
But here comes Thurio: now muft we to her window,
And give fome evening mufic to her ear.

Enter Thurio and Muficians.

Thu. How now, Sir Protheus, are you crept before us? Pro. Ay, gentle 7 burio; for, you know, that love Will creep in fervice where it cannot go.

Thu. Ay, but I hope, Sir, that you love not here. Pro. Sir, but I do; or elfe I would be hence. Thu. Whom, Silvia?

Pro. Ay, Silvia, for your fake.

Thu. I thank you, for your own: now, Gentlemen, Let's tune, and to it luftily a while,

Enter Hoft, and Julia in boy's cloaths.

Hoft. Now, my young gue?, methinks, your're allycolly: I pray you, why is it?

Jul. Marry, mine hoft, because I cannot be merry. Hoft. Come, we'll have you merry; I'll bring you

where